Various concrete form ties are available for use in supporting concrete form panels so that ends of the form ties may be severed after the concrete sets or hardens. The cavities left in the concrete due to the portions of the form tie removed therefrom are then patched with suitable materials. One particular concrete form tie assembly is disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,437,306 which issued on Apr. 8, 1964 and is entitled "Concrete Form Tie Assembly And Plug Therefor". Although the frusto-conical plug provided adjacent the end of the form tie described in the above-identified patent adequently serves its intended purposes, there are certain concrete forming applications in which this form tie is not suitable. On occasion, it is desirable to leave a relatively small cavity after the end portion of the form tie has been removed. Additionally, the use of the frusto-conical plug is not suitable in those concrete forming applications in which a particular welded steel frame is used to reinforce the concrete form panels, as is more fully described in my U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 887,441, filed on Mar. 20, 1978 and entitled "Clamping Lock For Looped Ties" because of the relatively small aperture through which the form tie must be inserted. Since some type of device or material must be placed on the portion of the form tie that is to be separated and removed from the hardened concrete so that it is easily removed therefrom, some solutions to the problem of leaving only relatively small cavities in the concrete have been devised. Conventional grease substances have been applied to the ends of the form ties. However, it has been found that, after removal of the greased form tie end, some grease remains in the concrete and when the cavity is filled with a plug or patch the grease prevents adequate sealing of the patched concrete. Different kinds of paint coatings have also been applied to the form tie ends. Again, a number of problems arose because of the use of paint. Often times the paint hardens in such a manner that it becomes substantially an integral part of the form tie so that the lubricating action of the form tie end is lost. Thus, when the end of the form tie is severed, there is considerable difficulty in removing this end because it adheres to the hardened concrete. Another problem observed with the use of some types of paints is that they dry too slowly on the form tie. This slow drying time is very undesirable since it is often necessary to make the form ties and have them immediately ready for use. Still another problem encountered is that the paint does not dry completely and the form tie may stick to another substance with which it contacts. This problem is particularly acute when such form ties are placed together in a container. Upon removal from the container, the form ties may have to be forceably separated. This procedure results in the removal of the paint coating from the form tie end portion and renders the form tie unusuable, inasmuch as its purpose is to facilitate the removal of the form tie end from the concrete, since the lubricating action of the paint is not available.
Thus, the form tie of this invention alleviates the above-noted problems with the addition of a sleeve which quickly and efficiently attaches to the end portion of the form tie which is to be broken back or detached. The sleeve containing portion of the form tie is easily removed from the hardened concrete after is it severed from the remaining body of the form tie. In addition, the thickness of the sleeve minimally increases the cross-section of the form tie so that a relatively small cavity remains in the concrete after the end of the form tie has been broken away and removed from the concrete.